


I Want a Trickster for Christmas

by WindChimeGhost



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cute Kids, Cutesy, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Holiday, Humor, Light-Hearted, Loki Feels, Loki-centric, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-10 20:15:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8937610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindChimeGhost/pseuds/WindChimeGhost
Summary: Loki is banished to Midgard as punishment and left in the care of a young human child named Ruby, whose only wish for Christmas is a friend.





	1. Ruby

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Critique not desired ~
> 
> Wow, another Christmas here already! Okay, so the plot bunny for this fic hit me back in the summer, and I started writing on it around August or September. I had hoped to get it done in time to upload the entire thing for Christmas. BUT…that didn’t happen. =( Life stuff got in the way, my book writing got in the way, and so forth. Before I knew it, we’re now in the week of Christmas.
> 
> Anyway, I still wanted to upload at least the first chapter to get this fic rolling. I’ll have to finish it up after Christmas. Sorry, everyone, that I didn’t get all of it finished in time.
> 
>  
> 
> Loki, Thor, The Avengers and all related characters © Marvel
> 
> Fanfic and plot ©2016 by me (please do not take, use, or edit without my permission)

Loki stood in the middle of the park, completely mortified. His feet sank deeper in the snow the longer he stood. For the first time in his life, he felt the bitter cold wind biting at his cheeks and nose and whatever else his leathers didn’t cover. He did all he could to keep from crying and making a fool of himself in front of the mortals that leisurely strolled by. His sudden appearance made some of them gawk in confusion. A few became frightened and ran off. Leashed dogs barked at him, pulling their owners along with them.

The last words Odin spoke before Heimdall transported him to the location still rang in his ears: _“I am stripping you of your immortality and magic and banishing you to Midgard. And to make sure you stay out of trouble, you will be put under the watchful eyes of a mortal guardian.”_

He had hoped that mortal guardian would be Jane Foster…or maybe even one of the Avengers. So you can imagine his surprise when Odin handed him a small parchment having a name and Midgard address. Before his departure, Odin had added that it was Heimdall’s request. Heimdall’s request? That was odd.

Loki gathered himself together and forced his eyes to glance down at the paper in his shivering palm. The address scrawled across it was nearby. Knowing his luck, whoever his guardian was probably lived in a shack.

He pulled his coat tighter around him and started on his way to meet his doom.

 

By the time Loki arrived at the address, the sun was already beginning to set. The approaching night was bringing with it colder temperatures. He stood, shivering, on the side of the road and stared out across the wide front yard. The house was a three-story brick mansion set on several acres of estate. A black rod iron fence jutted out on either side, separating the backyard from the outside world. On it was strung green garland and wreaths with red bows.

The bare ice-covered trees in the front yard were strung with white Christmas lights that twinkled like hundreds of little stars. Loki eyed the lights curiously, but the sudden icy gust that whipped around him quickly brought him back to his current problem.

The place didn’t look half bad. Not as rich looking as the palace back on Asgard, but it would do. Loki stepped onto the stone path leading to the front door and started on his way. It was freshly shoveled, but he still had to watch out for icy patches.

The trickster walked up the front porch steps, his eyes quickly taking in his surroundings. He lifted his hand to ring the doorbell but stopped halfway and hesitated. The sound of a child laughing found its way to his ears.

He looked to his right.

It seemed to be coming from the side yard. Slowly he walked down the steps and trudged through the snow until he came to where the corner of the house met the iron fence. He cautiously peeked around to see who would be crazy enough to be outside in this weather.

On the other side was a little blonde-haired girl playing in the snow, her only companion a dirty, lopsided snowman. She was in the middle of tossing snowballs against the side of the house.

Loki glanced at the paper in his hand and looked at the girl again, his brow scrunching up. Surely Heimdall was joking with him.

He cleared his throat.

“Are you Ruby?” he asked.

His voice startled the child and made her snap her head around just as the last snowball she threw hit the house and exploded in a shower of snow shrapnel.

“Yes?” she answered. A hint of nervousness laced her voice. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Loki’s mouth slowly fell open as he stared. She was a child. Did Heimdall really mean for her to be his guardian?

“I-I…my name is Loki,” he finally said. The girl’s head perked up the moment he mentioned his name. She actually smiled and then laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re named after the trickster in Norse mythology,” she answered. “The God of Mischief.”

Loki stepped forward and grasped the fence bars. “I’m not named after anyone. I _am_ the God of Mischief.”

“Ah, be serious,” the girl giggled. “There’s no such thing. They’re just myths—stories, fairy tales.”

“Do I look like a myth?” Loki said indignantly. “While I don’t agree with your Midgard mythologies, I can assure you that I am who I say I am.”

“If you’re really the real Loki, why are you standing there? Why are you here at _my_ house?” Ruby questioned. She walked forward.

“If you must know, I was banished here by the All-Father. He put me under the care of a mortal while I’m here.”

“Banished? You mean you’re being punished?”

Loki grimaced. “Yes.”

“For being naughty?”

This child was really starting to irritate him. “…Yes.”

“So who’s your caretaker?”

“The paper says you are.” Loki stretched out his hand between the fence bars to show her the parchment.

She closed the gap between them with a few steps and timidly took the paper and read it. She was silent a few moments as she read it over two more times. Finally, she looked up at the trickster. She took in his appearance and his clothing and armor in one quick glance, coming to the conclusion that he had to be telling the truth. But it was impossible…

“Why me?” she asked softly.

“I don’t know,” Loki replied. “It’s not like I had a say-so in the matter.”

Ruby handed the paper back and walked over to unlatch the lock on the fence’s gate and let Loki inside. She eyed him as he walked past, looking him over from his boots to his long hair.

“Can we go inside? It’s freezing out here,” Loki griped as he blew into his cupped hands to warm them.

“Sure.” Ruby closed the gate and escorted Loki around to the back door.

“I hope your parents don’t mind me staying here,” said Loki once they were inside. Not that he cared what her parents thought, but he didn’t want to risk running into problems that would result in them kicking him out.

“You don’t have to worry about them,” Ruby answered sadly. She pulled off her wet snow boots and left them by the door. Then she pulled off her coat, gloves, and knitted hat and hung them on the coat rack. “They aren’t here. They’re on a business trip in France. I don’t expect them to be back until after New Year’s.”

Loki glanced around him at the small back foyer. “You mean…we’re here alone?”

“No. There’s Carl, our butler, and the servants and the cook.” Ruby smiled and waved for Loki to follow her. “C’mon, I’ll show you around.”

Ruby took Loki through most of the house. The trickster shyly followed and patiently listened to her give a detailed commentary on each room. This one was the library, this one was the dining room, that one was her father’s office and was off limits. The list went on and on.

The place was huge and fancy. It was clear the girl’s family had money and lots of it. Loki didn’t mind, though. It fit his taste. In fact, he was going to like living here. He’d still have servants and most everything he needed to be comfortable. And his caretaker was a child, an easy target to outwit. He figured he’d have her twisted around his little finger come morning, and he’d be the boss instead of the other way around. Or she’d lose interest in a few days or a week and leave him to his own devices, whichever came first. From where he was standing, banishment wasn’t looking bad. He smiled. For once Odin did something right.

“And this is my room,” Ruby proudly announced as they entered one of the bedrooms on the second floor. Loki stepped inside. It had a plush pink carpet and white walls. A bunk bed filled one corner, a desk and computer across from it. The wall over the computer was covered in a messy collage of posters, drawings, and photos. There were stuffed animals, dolls, and books everywhere.

“So, where do I stay?” Loki asked.

“You can stay in one of the bedrooms down the hall,” said Ruby. “I can also get you some of my dad’s old clothes for you to wear if you want.”

Loki nodded.

“Great!”

Ruby showed Loki several bedrooms, the trickster finally choosing the one across from Ruby’s. He didn’t fancy being this close to the girl, but the room was bigger and had a private bathroom.

“Here you go,” said Ruby. She dumped an armload of clothes on the bed. “Some of my dad’s clothes; I hope they fit.”

Loki sifted through the clothes. He pulled out a pair of flannel pajamas, some jeans, a sweatshirt, a T-shirt, and socks.

Ruby left the room to allow Loki to change. Even though he had warmed up during his tour of the mansion, he was still chilled, so he chose to put on the pajamas and socks, of which he found to be really comfortable.

Once he was done changing, he sat down on the bed and hesitated. He didn’t want to go out into the hallway where he knew Ruby was waiting. He admitted that she was all right for a mortal. At least she was kind to him and actually seemed to…like him. That was a first. But he was tired and wanted to be alone. The realization that he was now mortal and banished to Midgard was finally setting in, and he wished to sulk in the private confines of his bedroom.

A knock came to the door, and Ruby entered before Loki could say anything. That was annoying. The girl smiled and bounded forward to plop herself down on the bed next to him. She studied the trickster closely, reaching out to brush back a few locks of his hair. Loki leaned away from her, confused by the action. He didn’t know how to respond to her touch.

“You don’t look anything like the pictures in my books,” she finally said.

Loki’s eyebrows rose. “Is that good or bad?”

Ruby thought a minute, finally giving a nod. “It’s good. You look far more handsome.” Loki’s chest puffed out at hearing the compliment. “And you’re cuter,” Ruby quickly added with a giggle. Loki’s face turned a tad red, but he couldn’t help but smile. She brushed another lock of hair out of his face. “Are you sure you’re the God of Mischief and lies and deceit?”

“I prefer God of Mischief.”

“But you said you’re here because you’re being punished. So you must be a bad boy.” Ruby smirked. Clearly, the girl was amused over his recent plight.

“You’re into mythology?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Yes! Norse mythology is my favorite.”

Loki smirked. “So I’m like a celebrity to you, then.”

“You could say that.” Ruby flashed him a toothy smile. “I _have_ always liked Loki. I mean, you.”

“A word of advice: Don’t believe everything you read,” said Loki. “Not all of the stories in your books are accurate.”

“O-kaaay.” Ruby’s smile widened. “By the way, I’m ten. How old are you?”

“None of your business,” Loki snapped.

“I was just asking. No need to be rude. Since I like Norse mythology, naturally I’d like to know more about you. You said not all the stories are accurate.”

Loki was silent a moment. “I’ll tell you later. Not now.”

Ruby picked up one of Loki’s hands and looked it over. She pulled his sleeve up to examine his arm. Loki pulled away.

“What are you doing?”

“Just looking.” Ruby took his hand in hers again. “You look like a normal human.”

“I should. Odin made me mortal as part of my punishment.”

“He did? Why?”

“So I can suffer with the rest of you,” Loki said grumpily. In afterthought he added, “And because he’s sadistic.”

“Your own brother is sadistic?” Ruby questioned.

Loki’s skin crawled, and he grimaced. “I told you not everything in your Midgard books is accurate. Odin is not my brother.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “He isn’t? Then...who is he?”

Loki’s face turned soured. “He’s my...” A lump formed in his throat, “...he’s my adopted father.”

Ruby studied him a few seconds as the new information sunk in. “So your daddy made you mortal and sent you here to punish you for being naughty?”

Again, Loki grimaced at the girl’s choice of words. “Yes. And he’s not my father.”

“But you just said he’s your adopted father.”

“I disowned him!” Loki snapped, turning away from Ruby. He crossed his arms over his chest. “He cares nothing about me,” he mumbled. “You see evidence of that with me being here. Every time I do something displeasing to him, he punishes me by throwing me aside like some offal.”

“Someone’s got daddy issues...” Ruby said under her breath.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Ruby cleared her throat. “Can you eat? Are you hungry?”

“Of course, I can eat.”

She smiled. “I’m going to go downstairs and have some cookies. Want to join me?”

Loki hesitated. He was about to say no, but a rumble from his stomach caused him to change his mind. He nodded.

The trickster followed the little girl down the stairs and into the front foyer where they met up with the family’s butler. The elderly man was in the middle of straightening up an ornament on the large Christmas tree in the center of the room. Hearing the cacophony coming downstairs, he turned around, his brow drawing down.

“What on earth is all that noise?” said Carl.

“It’s only me,” said Ruby, flashing a smile.

Carl smiled back, and then his eyes quickly caught sight of Loki coming up behind her. Startled, he pointed at the trickster.

“Ruby, who is this?” he asked, sizing Loki up.

“This is an old friend of the family,” Ruby replied.

“Oh? I’ve never seen him, and I wasn’t aware he was visiting today…and…in his pajamas?” Carl took in the flannel PJs in one glance.

“He’s going to stay for awhile, actually.”

“Now, Ruby, I can’t have you bringing strangers into the house. What would your parents say?”

“He’s no stranger. He’s my friend,” she countered. “Like I said, he’s a friend of the family. Loki, this is Carl, our butler.”

Loki nodded awkwardly. Carl returned the gesture with a nod of his own. Then he lifted an eyebrow. “Loki?”

“C’mon, Loki.” Ruby took Loki’s hand and led him into the dining room. She looked over her shoulder at Carl. “We’re gonna have some cookies and hot chocolate,” she said.

“But it’s almost time for dinner,” he protested.

“We can still eat dinner,” Ruby called from the dining room. “Will you call for a pizza?”

Sighing, Carl shook his head, silently accepting that he had lost the conversation.

After seeing Loki was comfortable, Ruby bounded off to the kitchen and reappeared with a plate of Christmas cookies. She set it in the middle of the table, went back to the kitchen, and came back after several minutes with two glasses of steaming hot chocolate.

“Here we go…with extra marshmallows!” She smiled as she set one at her place and one in front of Loki. “Careful, it’s really hot,” she cautioned. She sat down and grabbed a cookie, taking a bite. “Carl and I made these this morning,” she proudly said after swallowing.

“I thought you said you had a cook.” Loki reached and took a cookie, nibbling it as if testing the taste before taking a full bite.

“We do, but I wanted to make cookies. And Carl loves to bake. We sometimes get the urge to make cookies, and we do.”

“And what about your parents?” Loki asked. “You said they are not here.”

Ruby was silent a few seconds. “Yeah, they’re in France. Some urgent business took them away last week. Or so they say.”

Loki lifted an eyebrow. “So they say?”

She sighed. “They always have to go away around holidays. Sometimes I wonder if they even want me or care about me. They rarely act like it since they’re never here for me during the special times…or when I really need them.”

Loki traced the handle of his mug with his thumb. He knew how Ruby felt all too well.

“Christmas is coming up. It’s a time for families to be together,” she continued. “Looks like I’m going to be spending it alone with Carl as usual.”

“Christmas?”

“You’ve never heard of Christmas?”

“No, not really,” Loki answered. “I might have heard it in passing during my past trips to Midgard.”

“Santa Claus? Presents? Christmas lights and trees?”

Loki shook his head. “Is that what all of these…decorations are for?” He waved toward the tree in the foyer.

Ruby nodded.

“We _do_ celebrate a similar holiday called Yule,” said Loki, “where we decorate with greenery and have feasts…like you seem to do with your Christmas.”

“Oh.” Ruby took another bite of her cookie. “I’ve heard of Yule, mostly in Christmas songs and poems.”

“What’s Santa Claus?” Loki asked.

“He’s a man who delivers gifts to good children on Christmas Eve. He flies around the world in a magic sleigh pulled by reindeer. Usually, you have to send him letters and tell him what you want for Christmas, and he’ll bring it to you if you’re really, really good and get on his nice list.”

Loki’s eyebrows perked. Mortals certainly were interesting.

“What does he give the bad children?” he asked.

“Coal.”

“That makes no sense.”

Ruby shrugged. “It’s just the way it is. I can’t explain it.”

“And what did you ask Santa for?” Loki queried, more out of amusement than anything.

“A friend.”

Ruby’s answer made the trickster almost drop his mug.

“What?”

Ruby poked at one of the marshmallows in her chocolate. “I asked Santa for a friend, someone I can spend Christmas with.”

“But…you have Carl.”

“I know,” said Ruby. “He’s part of my family, but I want someone who’ll play with me and someone I can share secrets with. Carl is…well…more like a grandfather.”

As if on cue, Carl stuck his head into the dining room.

“Ruby, your parents are on the phone in your dad’s office,” he said.

“Okaaaay…” Ruby gulped down the last of her hot chocolate and walked out of the room.

Loki finished his cookie and chocolate and got up to wander around. He walked into the foyer and over to the Christmas tree.

It was a tall tree, decked out in white lights and wine colored ribbon. He leaned his head back to gaze up at the very top where a gold star-shaped tree topper finished off the display. Finding the ornaments a curious oddity, he reached out and touched a green ball, tapping it with a fingernail. Then he caught sight of an ornament of an old bearded man dressed in red and white. Santa Claus, he guessed. He turned it over in his hand a couple of times. The figure reminded him of Odin in a way. Frowning, he roughly hung it back on the tree and sighed.

The decorations really were beautiful, he thought.

After dinner, Ruby took Loki back upstairs to her room. She gathered up a wad of nightclothes from her bed and went into her own private bathroom. When she came out again she was dressed in bright red and green pajamas. A cartoony reindeer was printed on her shirt and candy canes on her pants. She tossed the clothes she’d previously been wearing on a chair in the corner. Smiling, she plopped herself down in the middle of the floor and pulled a plastic storage box toward her.

Loki continued to linger in the doorway, not sure what to do. He awkwardly watched as the girl took the box’s lid off and set it aside. She then proceeded to drag out Monster High dolls and My Little Ponies and accessories, laying them out around her.

“Come and play,” she said, patting the spot beside her.

“Play?” Loki stepped forward.

“We can play a little while before I have to go to bed.”

“You mean…play with dolls?”

“Yes!” Ruby held a pony out for Loki to take.

The trickster looked at it dejectedly, wrinkling his nose. “I don’t play with dolls.”

Running a dagger through Ruby’s chest would have been less painful. Loki bit his lip as he studied the hurt in her eyes as her arm and the pony remained outstretched. For some reason, he suddenly felt like a heel and wished he could take back the words.

“I guess there’s a first time for everything,” Loki whispered. He slowly reached out and took the pony. He looked at it, running a finger over its soft mane.

Ruby smiled.

Loki lowered himself down on the floor beside Ruby and sat, crossing his legs. He was clueless and felt lost as he watched Ruby become absorbed in her own little world. She walked her dolls across the carpet and talked for them as they engaged in conversation.

It had been a long time since Loki played with toys.

His thoughts suddenly drifted back to the time when he and Thor would play by the window in the nursery. Surrounded by carved wooden blocks, animals, warriors, and boats, they would spend long afternoons acting out make-believe adventures.

His idea of ‘play’ had changed drastically as he got older and often involved things that others around him found annoying or displeasing.

He looked down at the little rubber horse in his hand like someone had handed him a dead mouse.

Ruby nudged his arm with one of her dolls.

“Don’t you think my outfit looks pretty?” Ruby spoke for the doll.

Loki sighed.

This was so beneath him, he thought. Not only that, but he was also tired. It had been a long day.

“Yes, it does,” Loki answered halfheartedly. This apparently pleased Ruby—the doll?—for she took the doll away to interact with the others.

The trickster picked up some clothes and dressed the pony he held. He put a silky cape and a plastic sunbonnet on it. Pleased with his accomplishment, he turned to join Ruby.

Ruby and Loki played for half an hour. Then Carl came to announce it was time for Ruby to go to bed, which was fine with Loki.

Loki went to his room and took a long shower and readied himself for bed with the items Ruby—or maybe one of the servants—left in his bathroom. When he finished, he put on his pajamas again and crawled into bed, grateful to finally be able to lie down.

Before he could get comfortable, Ruby padded into the room and deposited what she carried on the foot of the bed.

“I thought you might need an extra blanket. It’s gonna be really cold tonight.” She unfolded the blanket and draped it over Loki, tucking it around him. When she was done, she put a little plush unicorn on the bed in front of the trickster. “And I have this.” She held up a nightlight. “It always helps me sleep to have one of these in the room.” She plugged it into an outlet and turned it on. The plastic Santa on the front lit up with a cheery red and white glow. “Christmas nightlights…neat, huh?”

Loki looked from the light to Ruby, not knowing what to say.

The girl walked over to the foot of the bed again, picking up a small stack of books and putting them on the nightstand. “I also brought you these. They’re some Christmas books. Thought you might like to learn more about it.”

“Thank you,” said Loki.

“Are you comfortable?”

“Yes.”

Smiling, Ruby leaned over and kissed Loki’s forehead. He drew away from her and gave her a puzzled look. If the girl noticed his reaction, she didn’t give any indication of it as she cheerily said, “Goodnight.”

After Ruby left, shutting the door behind her, Loki lay there for a few minutes as he pondered over the girl’s actions toward him. He couldn’t understand why she was being so accepting and nice to him.

He reached out and picked up one of the books she’d left on the night table and read the title: _The Night before Christmas_. He picked up another: _A Christmas Carol_. Curious, he began flipping through them. He became interested and read until he fell asleep.


	2. The Snowball Fight

Loki was rudely pulled from a deep sleep by someone jumping on his bed. He cracked his eyes open and rolled over. For whatever reason, Loki didn’t know, Ruby was using his bed as a trampoline. She was dressed in a Santa hat and gaudy Christmas sweater and pants. Then there was the blaring music coming from her room across the hall. Loki heard it as only garbled noise at first, but now that he was coming into being fully awake, he could make out, ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’.

“What are you doing?” Loki asked. “Why are you in my room at this hour of the morning?”

“It’s time to get up!” Ruby replied.

“I don’t care if it’s time to get up. I would appreciate you not coming into my room uninvited.”

Ruby stopped jumping. “I’m your guardian, remember?”

“So?”

“So that means you can’t boss me around.”

Loki fought to keep his temper in check. “I was not bossing you around. Coming into someone’s room uninvited is rude.”

Ruby started jumping again. “What do you want for breakfast?” she asked. “I’ll go tell the cook.”

He wanted to be mad at her. But for some reason, he couldn’t find it within himself to do anything other than glare.

“Whatever you wish to fix me,” he replied. “Just make it good.”

“Alrighty,” the girl said as she gave one last bounce and jumped from the bed and skipped out into the hall.

Loki sighed and let his head fall against the pillow. He wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew it was impossible. Not only did Ruby wake him up, but she left her music blaring.

He kicked the covers off and stormed to the girl’s room and angrily punched the power button on the CD player. Silence—blessed silence. He returned to his room and shut the door.

He thought about changing into proper clothes, but what was the use? He had nowhere to go and no way of getting there even if he had.

After a few minutes of contemplating his options, he ended up taking a shower and putting his pajamas back on. He was just finishing pulling his socks on when Ruby opened the door, startling him.

“Breakfast is ready,” she announced. “I fixed you something really special.”

Loki lifted an eyebrow and regarded her a moment. Did she expect him to go downstairs? If it was up to him, he wouldn’t set foot outside the door. But his stomach rumbled and let him know how hungry he actually was.

“You are not going to bring it up here?” he asked.

“Why should I? We always eat in the dining room.”

“I thought you would have one of the servants serve it to me here.”

“Is that the way they do it in Asgard?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.”

“Momma doesn’t like for us to eat in our bedrooms.”

“But…your parents are not here.”

Ruby shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I still eat in the dining room. C’mon.” She tugged on Loki’s sleeve.

Reluctantly, he followed Ruby down to the dining room, where he seated himself at the table.

Quick as a flash, Ruby went to the kitchen and brought back two plates, setting one of them in front of Loki.

The trickster looked down at a large pancake that had been dressed up to look like a Santa head. Fresh cut strawberries made up the hat and nose, two chocolate chips for the eyes, and the beard was a sloppy mess of whipped cream. Two strips of bacon on either side.

Loki scrunched up his nose but picked up his fork and dug in. Much to Loki’s relief, most of the meal was spent in silence. Ruby did talk about one thing and then another occasionally, mostly about Christmas. Since Loki had no interest in following the conversation, the attempts at small talk ended up being one-sided.

“I have everything we’re going to do today already planned out,” Ruby proudly announced when they finished eating. She drank the last of her milk and walked over to a buffet table, where a piece of paper and a pencil was lying.

Loki sighed. “Why do we have to do anything?”

“Because it’s Christmas, and there’s fun stuff to do!”

Loki rolled his eyes. Yeah, that explained everything, he thought.

“First,” Ruby continued, looking at her list, “we’re going to get dressed and play in the snow. It’s best to do that while we’ve got daylight. Once it gets dark, it starts getting colder.”

Loki remained silent. He turned to gaze out the window at the blinding sea of white that covered the backyard. He shivered just looking at it. He wasn’t looking forward to being out in the cold again. If he still had his powers, he wouldn’t mind since he normally couldn’t feel cold—being a Jotun and all. But as a mortal…he quickly discovered that he was not a cold weather person.

He sighed again. “Okay. But just for a little while.”

Ruby squealed with excitement. “I’ll get my coat and boots while you go change clothes. I left you some more of my dad’s clothes in my room, including a coat.”

Ten minutes found Loki and Ruby trudging through the backyard’s frozen tundra like a couple of Eskimos.

Loki had changed into a coat that was a size too small, a sweatshirt and sweatpants that were both two sizes too large, and snow boots that were three sizes too big. It was the best Ruby could find in her father’s closet, so he didn’t say anything. Although, he was doing a fair amount of complaining in his head as he struggled to keep up with the girl. It was hard walking through several feet of snow in oversized boots and pants that wanted to come down below your knees.

He stopped a second time to pull his pants back in place. He grabbed the drawstrings and pulled them as tight as he could and tied a knot in them. He was glad there were no other houses in sight otherwise someone would have gotten an eyeful of his boxer shorts.

He shuddered at the stream of cold air that made its way down into his pants. He wrapped his coat tighter around him and clenched his legs closed in an attempt to keep out the frigid wind.

“What do we do, now that we’re out here in this awful weather?” Loki asked. He wrapped his arms around himself.

He was startled out of his disgruntled state when a flying snowball hit his arm. He turned to see Ruby patting another one into shape.

“We could have a snowball fight,” she said, grinning.

Loki wiped the snow off him. “Snowball fight?”

“Yeah, you know…throw snowballs at each other until one wins.”

Loki looked down at the ground and curiously watched as the girl made another snowball.

“You pack the snow into a firm ball, like this. Then you roll it in more snow and pack more into it until it’s the right size and shape,” Ruby explained as she demonstrated.

Loki squatted down on his heels and picked up a handful of snow and did the same as Ruby.

“Like this?” Loki showed his creation to the girl.

She smiled and nodded. “Yeah! That’s perfect!” Ruby went back to making more snowballs for herself. “They don’t have to be perfectly shaped, I should add. Just make sure they’re right for throwing. Snowball fights are far from perfect, anyway. When you’re in the middle of a game, sometimes you have to just scoop up snow in your hands and toss it like it is.”

Ruby was suddenly hit in the face by a lump of snow. Taken by surprised by the suddenness of the action, she looked up.

“Did I do it right?” Loki smirked.

She gave a nod. “Yeah, but try not to hit people in the face. You could hurt someone that way.”

“Oh.” Loki looked down at the second snowball in his hand.

Ruby tossed another snowball at the trickster, hitting him in the stomach. He retaliated by throwing one back, hitting her in the arm as she shielded herself. She backpedaled, reaching down to scoop up more snow and shaping it into a ball.

Something awoke and surged inside Loki. His eyes grew larger. His grin widened.

This wasn’t so bad, he thought. It was actually kind of fun and invigorating.

“You’d better run,” Ruby warned, her grin turning mischievous as she brandished the snowball in her gloved hand.

Grinning, Loki eagerly scooped up another handful of snow and began shaping it into a ball as he ran away from Ruby. The girl giggled and chased him across the yard. He threw another snow missile at her. She easily dodged it.

“Missed!” Ruby announced. She threw her own and clipped Loki’s head.

Loki let out an undignified squeak as he hid behind the nearest tree. He was smiling like an excited child as he dropped to his knees and fumbled to get more snowballs made.

He jumped when one of Ruby’s snowballs splattered against the tree’s trunk.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” he called with a laugh.

“Oh?” He heard Ruby’s voice close to him. He quickly snapped his head around. “Like this?”

The girl pelted Loki with a barrage of small snowball bullets. Loki held up an arm to shield himself while trying to shape a snowball with his other hand. Laughing, he got to his feet and took off running to find a better hiding place. Ruby ran after him, finally running out of ammunition halfway. She stopped to make more.

It didn’t take long for the two to fall into a simple game, both tossing snowballs back and forth at each other. Loki forgot about his recent problems as his mind became focused on whether or not his aim could hit Ruby. He was, shamefully, pathetic at first until he got the hang of it. He was glad Thor wasn’t there to witness a Frost Giant failing miserably at a child’s snow game.

During this time, Ruby took advantage of the trickster’s slowness to catch on to the earth game. She relentlessly pounded him with snowballs, hoping he would give up and surrender. But he kept at it until he gained the upper hand.

After about an hour of tossing snowballs back and forth, both established for themselves makeshift forts—Ruby stationing herself behind the corner of the house and Loki behind the tree diagonally across from her.

Loki peeked out from behind his thin shield and waited for the girl to show herself, snowball in hand. It had been several minutes since he’d seen any part of her appear from behind the house’s corner. He breathed heavily, his face feeling frozen.

Unknown to him, Ruby was in the process of sneaking up behind him.

Silently, she crept closer and closer, hoping the crunching snow wouldn’t betray her approach.

When she was finally within a couple of feet of the crouching trickster, she quickly grabbed the waistband of Loki’s pants, pulled them down, and shoved a glob of snow into the back part of his underwear.

“Hey!” Loki yelped. He jumped, stiffened, and threw his hands back, pushing the giggling girl away from him. Ruby fell backward, not able to stop her laughter over Loki’s expression. The trickster scrambled to his feet and felt of his rear. He stiffened more and his eyes grew wide at feeling the cold, wet lump that slid deeper into his boxers.

He admitted it was a good trick and admired Ruby for it. He was going to have to try it on Thor sometime. Even so, he never liked being at the mercy of someone else’s trickery. His already reddened cheeks flushed even redder. He shook his legs, trying to work the snow down. But the actions only caused it to fall into areas he’d rather not mention out loud.

“I’ll get you for that!” he shouted.

He bent down and scooped up as much snow as he could and threw it at the child. Ruby shielded her face while continuing to roll with laughter.

“I pranked the trickster,” she said through her laughter. “I pranked the trickster!”

Loki fixed her with a scowl. “No need to rub it in.”

Ruby tossed another snowball at him. It hit his chest and showered his face with a spray of stinging, frozen shards.

Loki fell to his knees and scooped snow over Ruby. Despite her attempts to get away and hinder his actions, he managed to partially bury her under a bed of white.

He stood up and brushed off his mittens. “I want to go inside. My rear is frozen and numb. No thanks to you.”

Ruby giggled at his words. “You’d better run faster than that, or I’ll shove another snowball down your pants.”

Loki held up a finger and shielded his rear with his other hand. “Don’t you _dare_!”

Ruby began shoveling snow into her hands.

Loki stumbled backward, regained his footing, and ran to the back door. He just barely made it inside before a wild snowball splattered the side of the house, inches from him.


End file.
